The game marks the beginning of a three-game road trip for the Thunder as they will play the Nets on Wednesday and the Bulls on Friday over the next week.

After defeating the Hawks on Friday night, the Thunder are now 14-7 on the season and face a tough matchup against a Pistons team that has won five straight games.

The Thunder enter the game as one-point favorites after the two teams split the season series last year. Oklahoma City is 14-5 against the Pistons, including 6-3 in Detroit.

Here are three things to watch for on Monday night.

The Thunder’s top-ranked defense will be tested

Although the Pistons rank 17th in the NBA in offensive efficiency, the Thunder face a tough challenge against Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond.

Griffin is averaging a career-high 24.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game this season while Drummond is averaging a career-high 18.6 points, 16.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.

The Pistons have been a team this season that relies heavily on the 3-point shot. They are hitting 11.3 3’s per game, which ranks 10th in the NBA, and their 226 made 3-pointers this season are the second most in franchise history through 20 games.

Griffin has already set a career-high with five games making at least four 3-pointers in a game this season and is shooting 36.1 percent from 3-point range.

The Pistons have won six straight games at home and are coming off of a win against the Warriors on Saturday so it figures to be a great challenge for the Thunder on Monday.

Steven Adams vs. Andre Drummond

While the NBA game has certainly trended away from featuring traditional big men, the Thunder and Pistons are two teams that rely heavily on their centers.

The two big men have consistently ranked near the top of the league in offensive rebounding as Drummond’s 6.4 offensive boards lead the NBA while Adams ranks fourth with 4.8 per game.

The Pistons and Thunder met previously this year in the preseason as the two centers shined in that contest. Drummond recorded 31 points and 16 boards while Adams had 17 points and 12 rebounds.

“I think he’s one of the best defensive bigs in the league,” Drummond said. “He’s a tough matchup for me. [I] always have a great time playing against him. He gets the best out of me and I get the best out of him, so he’s a hell of a player.”

Adams and Drummond have certainly had their battles in the past. While the two are among the best rebounders in the league, Drummond infamously tweeted that Adams has no chance of being the best rebounder in the NBA.

We’ll see who wins this matchup on Monday.

Westbrook vs. Reggie Jackson

The two former teammates will play each other for the first time this season as Westbrook did not play in the preseason meeting.

Of course, Jackson spent a little over three seasons with the Thunder before he was traded to the Pistons. While Westbrook is often friendly with former teammates he plays against, it will not be that way on Monday.

Two seasons ago, Westbrook and Steven Adams took exception to Jackson after he celebrated knocking down a couple of late free throws to ice the game.

“I thought it was some real [expletive] for our team and our organization,” Westbrook said, according to the Oklahoman. “I don’t like it at all. But it is what it is. We’ll see him down the line. We’ll take care of that when we get there.”

Last year, Westbrook was asked about that celebration and wasn’t willing to offer a response.

“No, I don’t,” Westbrook said when asked if he remembered the incident. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, man.”

While he was with the Thunder, Jackson repeatedly expressed his desire to be the team’s starting point guard over Westbrook and that eventually led to Jackson requesting a trade from the team.

It has obviously been quite a while since the two were last teammates, and both parties have surely moved on, but it will be interesting to see if anything happens on Monday between these two.

The game between the two teams tips off at 6 p.m. CT and can be seen on FS OK and NBA TV.

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Cody Taylor

Cody Taylor is the Editor and Lead Writer for OKC Thunder Wire based out of Orlando, Florida. He previously spent five years covering the NBA for Basketball Insiders and HoopsWorld. In addition, he has also covered college sports at UCF, including baseball, football and basketball.